Local Folks: Laura Phillips Edgecombe
October 13 is a special day for Laura Phillips Edgecombe. It’s the day that, 14 years ago, she and her husband went on their first date. It’s also the day that, 11 years ago, they wed in Fletcher Park. Edgecombe is a third-generation Jaxson who grew up in Mandarin, husband Adam, a first-generation from the […]
Local Folks: Erica Lovelace
Jacksonville native Erica Lovelace is a chef extraordinaire and a culinary influencer who is simmering on the edge of success in Avondale. Born and raised in Mandarin, Lovelace had left for Tallahassee to study marketing and design at Florida State University, where she met Joshua Pekera. Together, they headed west and spent a decade in […]
Local Folks: Craig Hamilton
A Man of Many Minerals At his core, Craig Hamilton is a collector. Over the years, he has collected coins, stamps, seashells and history, but what he loves collecting most is gems and minerals. He first started digging for rocks more than 65 years ago. When he was in sixth grade at North Shore Elementary […]
Local Folks: Laura Lothman Lambert
“I love, love, love being back in Jacksonville!” said Laura Lothman Lambert. And this time, she’s here to stay. “Jacksonville is a very special place to me, having grown up here,” she said. Lambert first arrived in Florida at seven years old when her family moved to the San Jose area of Jacksonville from Atlanta, […]
Local Folks: Mike Kovacs
Mike Kovacs and his wife, Chelsea Hamilton, moved to Avondale in November 2020 from New York City. They were ready for a change of pace, a change of weather and a change of taxes. Kovacs and Hamilton tend to be analytical people and embarked upon “Operation Sunshine State.” For quite some time, they researched a […]
Local Folks: Nancy Beecher
Riverside resident Nancy Beecher has been a professional photographer for the past 35 years, impressively snapping shots for two Super Bowls, the Orlando Magic, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and our own Jacksonville Jaguars (since their first game in 1995). She’s covered local college games – football, baseball and basketball – for […]
Local Folks: Hiking the Florida Trail with George Lugeanbeal
If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, how about stepping out for a 1,110-mile hike on the Florida Trail from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens State Park in Pensacola Beach? Ortega resident George Lugeanbeal averaged 16 miles per day hiking the Trail, a journey of 70 days with a […]
Local Folks: Noah Ray
Noah Ray, MPA, FAEM serves as the Emergency Preparedness Supervisor at Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. He has been with them since 2016. To unwind, the self-taught Ray plays bass guitar. During his high school days at Stanton College Prep, he played in the jazz band. These days, he jams with friends. “It’s how I […]
